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Fwd: Strategy & advice for Parts I and II-Therapy

d440v-
Outstanding post - you said what was in my mind better than I could have. I took part I in 2001 and part II in 2002, and did something very similar to what you did. I studied other stuff, sure, but I ran off xeroxes of years and years worth of old RAPHEXes and kept systematic track of how many % correct I could score. Speaking for myself, I just can't identify and make myself study something I don't know well, I would end up studying stuff I already knew. Taking tests similar to the actual exam gives one an opportunity to identify weak areas and to bone up on those. Just as a gamemanship issue, too, gaining the confidence of working many many questions under exam conditions is very valuable and will I think increase your score. As the military says, "train the way you'll fight".

The only thing I would add to your post is the importance of starting to study for each test with plenty of time, in my opinion that means at least 6 months of preparation. I would set a goal of perhaps 2-4 hours of study per week, with much of that time spent doing and studying the RAPHEX type material. I recommend starting this plenty early and doing a little bit at a time, so that when you discover something you need to look up, no matter how obscure, you'll be able to methodically look it up, study it, and thereby incrementally improve your (RAPHEX or real) exam score. If you wait until there are only a couple of weeks left, each thing like this that you discover you don't know as well as you thought you did is an opportunity instead to eat at your self-confidence and to panic. Start studying for that August test in January or February, and you won't need to knock yourself out, and it'll be much less stressful.
Tom Wagner
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Re: Strategy & advice for Parts I and II-Therapy

--- In http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/medphysboardpreparation/post?postID=jLZWYopcpzO7W79CvZhE4NdfUa1yJBsVjIuKu4svrpxfmpoXFRdXleAmwAP9VlMSDVQawLfZl4zcMdE0RhQoN6BcZdfcLZz_5zcuNvnYtw, Forrest Halford wrote:> This year, the ABR I clinical, was about 90% anatomy and physiology,and just a little radiobiology> sprinkled in. The books you list below would have done you preciouslittle good, except for Chabner,> but then you can get the language from the anatomy and physiologytext, too.Chabner is much more than vocabulary, despite the title, and the formthe information is presented in is much more conducive to actuallearning than straight A&P texts. The radiobio was 10-20% of my PartI clinical (2004) as well. I never claimed it was a huge percentage,and I wouldn't call 10-20% "precious little" either.> This has been mentioned before on the list, recently and repeatedly, and it is good to always> mention that you took the test earlier,....and it may be differentnow.Agreed. So obvious that I didn't mention it. However, given thatIMRT comprised about 2% of this year's II-Therapy, and the ABR makesmuch of all the psychometric analysis and thorough testing of newquestions, the rate of change in exam content is clearly low enough tomake my observations relevant for a minimum of a few more years.
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Re: Strategy & advice for Parts II-Therapy
I would like to give my advice for Part II takers:1.- A great percent of the questions that appeared on Part II this year alsoappeared on the Rosemark files (ABR text exams from 2000 to 2004). So, whenthe 2005 become available, do them all again. I consider this step capital,critical, needed and whatever else you want to name it.2.- RAPHEXs for Therapy Part II are very good. I did answer them from 1999until 2005. It wil prepare you for the easy type of questions (50 out of 75questions are easy type), and also, I must confess will send you to stuyd orre-study certain areas in which you are week.3.- The RAPHEXs have very good problems for MU setting calculations. Verywell written ones. Do them all, learn shortcuts from them, etc. Solve alsoall the problems at the end of the related chapter of Hendee's book. Andget involved in doing more hand calcs at you clinic.4.- RAPHEX doesn't get to the level of knowledge you need for solving the 2or 3 brachytherapy problems (even if they are basically 1D type of problems)on the test. Use the new edition of Hendee's book for that, and solve theproblems that appear there. Off course, read the TG43 and its recent update.5.- For accelerator related questions, at this level of Part II: Hendee'sbook and Karczmack's "A Primer ..." , are enough.6.- For radiation shielding problems get very familiar with the meaining ofTVL and HVL, do the problems at the end of Hendee's book chapter and alsoMcGuinley's book. Regarding the dose limits: in every question they weregiven. There were about 5 problems like this, all in the hard type questionsand is a good way to score 15 points or so, as they are not difficult.7.- I also have to give credits to Khan's book. It is a very good one, weall know that, and is great building foundation for Part II and the Orals.So, I thought, as I will have to pass the orals too, why not read, at leastthis time Khan's book chapter after chapter. I have to tell you that it is agreat way to really get "wet" with all the terms, concepts, etc. (newconcepts and technologies even) in the field.8.- There is a book nobody mentions and I consider also great: The Physicsof Radiotherapy X rays by Metcalfe, Hoban et al., and its companyon book:The Q and A book..9.- I will strongly recommend also Hendee's book. It is very good and has alot of problems to be solved.10.- Last, but not least, take the Therapy Physics Refresher Course at thecoming AAPM meeting. I found most of the presentations excelent. They willhelp you also to ask that particular question you never understood to a